Are Humans Beings Pre-Disposed to Believe in God?

The Enduring Mystery of Why We Cling to Faith

Would I believe in God if I wasn’t raised by parents who believe in God? It’s a question that I’ve been wondering lately.

When one of my readers, a loud-and-proud atheist, suggested in rather accusatory tones that, on the whole, people believe in God because they are indoctrinated as children, it gave me a moment of pause.

What he was really saying is that if children were brought up in a situation where there was never any mention of God, faith, or any other spiritual concepts, such as an afterlife, then they would never believe in God. Or, to put it another way, the default position of a human being is non-belief, and belief is something that is taught.

I like to think I’m reasonably open-minded, so I decided to do some research on my atheist friend’s premise.

I started with the question: “Are human beings predisposed to belief or non-belief?”

What I discovered was fascinating.

The Research

I stumbled upon some research conducted by the University of Oxford. With a substantial £1.9 million budget, the project enlisted the collaboration of 57 researchers who conducted over 40 distinct studies across 20 countries, encompassing a diverse array of cultures.

Dubbed ‘The Cognition, Religion, and Theology Project,’ the initiative, spearheaded by Dr. Justin Barrett from the Centre for Anthropology and Mind at Oxford University, drew on a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating insights from anthropology, psychology, philosophy, and theology. The international team of researchers conducted their studies amongst people of diverse religious traditions as well as those identified as atheists.

Stressing that their main aim wasn’t to prove or disprove the existence of a higher power, the researchers were simply intrigued by the question of whether ideas like gods and an afterlife are things people pick up along the way or if they’re just part of who we are.

As they mixed analytical and hands-on studies, a pretty clear-cut finding emerged: it seems like people naturally lean toward believing in gods and an afterlife. It’s like there’s this built-in tendency. What’s fascinating is that the research suggests that whether you lean towards particular theological beliefs or atheism, both are thoughtful responses to this deep-down instinct that’s woven into human nature.

Go figure.

The research would suggest that human beings are predisposed toward belief, not non-belief.

But why belief?

Why do we, as a society, cling to religious beliefs with such tenacity? Well, it turns out our brains might be wired for it. Scientists delving into the psychology and neuroscience of religion are unraveling the mysteries behind our enduring faith. It’s like a cognitive journey that explains why religion has stuck around for so long.

Our brains, ever the seekers of order in chaos, might be the architects of religion. We have this natural tendency to make sense of the world, to see patterns, and to attribute intentionality to our surroundings. It’s not just about religion; it’s about our basic cognitive functions paving the way for beliefs.

Psychologist Justin Barrett, leading the cognition, religion, and theology project at Oxford University, suggests that our brains have a predisposition to latch onto religious concepts. It’s not a single cognitive tendency but a collection of garden-variety cognitions nudging us towards a worldview where the world has purpose and design.

The research found that, even from a young age, children display a knack for imbuing everything with intentional creation. This penchant for finding meaning becomes more pronounced in times of uncertainty. When life throws us a curveball, we start seeing signs and patterns, a testament to our brain’s primeval wiring.

For example, Imagine you’re out in the vast savannah, and suddenly, you hear a bush rustle. What’s your immediate thought? Is it a casual, “Oh, it’s just the wind. I’m good right here”? Or do you lean towards a more cautious, “It’s a predator! Time to make a run for it!”

Of course, the latter option is the smarter move. Taking the precaution to flee when you hear that rustle and it turns out to be just the wind means you haven’t really lost much. But if you brush off the sound, and a hungry predator is lurking, well, let’s just say it’s not going to end well for you.

Interestingly, researchers don’t argue that these cognitive tendencies evolved specifically for religion. They likely served other adaptive purposes, like keeping us safe when in the presence of a perceived threat as in the above example. But they also lead us to believe that there is something behind it all. Everything has a cause… from the creaking floor in the middle of the night to the existence of the entire universe.

There’s also a bias for believing in the supernatural. Children as young as three attribute god-like qualities to an entity they call “God,” even if they’ve never been taught about it. Stories about pre-life and the afterlife seem to flow naturally from our cognitive well, shaping themes found in various religions.

Neuroscience lends weight to the idea that our brains are naturally inclined to believe. While there’s no “God spot,” thinking about God activates brain areas associated with understanding others’ emotions and intentions. Contemplative practices, like meditation and prayer, can even change how our brains are wired, enhancing attention and reducing self-centered thinking.

Religion not going anywhere

Despite the desire of some of my non-religious friends for a world without belief in God, the fact is religion isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Why?

Because the very basic, garden-variety ways of thinking that are common to all human beings are the very things that provide the impetus for religious beliefs. Like it or not, we are hardwired for belief.

According to the findings of the Oxford Study:

“This project suggests that religion is not just something for a peculiar few to do on Sundays instead of playing golf. We have gathered a body of evidence that suggests that religion is a common fact of human nature across different societies. This suggests that attempts to suppress religion are likely to be short-lived as human thought seems to be rooted to religious concepts, such as the existence of supernatural agents or gods, and the possibility of an afterlife or pre-life.”

Normal Minds, Doing Normal Things

Yes… it turns out that coming to believe in God is not an enormous leap across a chasm called ‘logic.’ In fact, one could argue that the opposite is true. Belief is not a departure from reason but a reasonable destination for normal minds doing normal things.

According to Pascal Boyer of the Departments of Psychology and Anthropology at Washington University:

“Atheism will always be a harder sell than religion […] because a slew of cognitive traits predispose us to faith. […] we now know that all versions of religion are based on very similar tacit assumptions, and that all it takes to imagine supernatural agents are normal human minds processing information in the most natural way.”

So, back to the question I posed at the beginning. Would I believe in God if I wasn’t raised by parents who believe in God?

There is every chance I would.

Dan Foster is the author of “Leaving Church, Finding God: Discovering Faith Beyond Organized Religion.”

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